No Limits

After about fifteen minutes spent brain storming an appropriate title the best I had was “Mind Blank.” which summarised the shock the world is feeling in March of 2020. I found that writing this piece gave me clarity and in fact my message was not a mind blank at all. Our spirit has been tested,but our resolve has been strengthened. While we work through the challenges ahead we have a responsibility to lead, love and learn. I’d like to acknowledge the people impacted by the catastrophic events of the year to date and send well wishes as far as they will go. We are in this together.

Living in Australia for the past ten years has been a blessing, however entering the new decade here in “paradise” was anything but heavenly. Someone posted a picture on Facebook recently, saying that 2020 will be cancelled. A reference to the countless loss faced in the first few months of the new year. 

The country was on fire for months, burning a great deal of Australia’s east coast down. This ruined livelihoods and shattered dreams and proved to be a big test for the notoriously strong aussie spirit. After months of burning, our guy in the sky sent the rain and lots of it. It rained for days and nights at a time and soon we went from fire flooded to, well, just flooded. Yet another test of our resolve. 

We finally turned a corner, for a very brief period life was normal. Enter COVID-19, Coronavirus. In circumstances labelled unprecedented the global health crisis swept the world off of it’s feet and caused the largest pandemic of the past century. Lives threatened by an illness that up until the time of writing is yet to be contained, jobs have been lost and the world has gone into lock down.

Self-Isolation, social distancing, restrictions to travel and of course the limitated supply of toilet paper; The world has changed in the blink of an eye. Tomorrow is uncertain, next week is unknown and the plan moving forward is unclear. I have never been surrounded by more panic, confusion and fear. For some reason, during a time filled with turmoil and tension, I feel obligated and empowered to share some foresight with anyone who will be receptive. 

In a conversation with my Fiancé literally the week prior to the COVID19 crisis, we spoke about qualities and what sets great people ahead. This was a conversation revolving around her employment, I was trying to convince a University graduate that there were qualities that far outweighed her university degree . Now to clarify a University Degree, and particularly a Bachelor’s Degree is an accomplishment in itself and undoubtedly sets people like her apart. My point was this, qualities on paper may be measured easier than intangible charicteristics, however it is the qualities of a person that will gift them the greatest opportunities moving forward. 

My High School had a slogan: Many Pathways, No Limits. For the longest time, I have been inspired to lead and have had absolutely no clue how to do that to the very best of my abilities. I have had countless oportunities to stand up however I have always faced a massive mental wall. In other words, many pathways and many limits. 

Right now Australia needs as many leaders as possible to provide pathways, remove limits and give support to those that need it. I’d like to share the same thoughts I shared with my Fiancé during her time of uncertainty. As people, the best qualities we have are empathy, coachability and perserverance. Move forward with every intention of executing those three qualities and the world will spin in a sweeter way. 

A colleague of mine shared a blog last week, empasising the best encouragement in a long while. WE GOT THIS. Three words I would like to borrow that lifted my spirits as well as the spirits of many others. I’d like to leave you with a few key messages, share them with your circle and while the world is spinning the way it is please help me make it spin a bit sweeter. 

  • #wegotthis- three words can lift the spirits in a room. I challenge everyone to keep lifting the spirits anywhere they go. 
  • practice empathy- listen and love those you speak to, it seriously makes a difference. 
  • stay coachable- in a world where you are not promised anything, double down on opportunities to learn. Knowledge is power. 
  • Perservere- as hard as it may be during a chaotic time, keep moving forward. Study the help available, offer the help required and support each other in an effort to “strap in”.

I wish everyone the very best over the coming days, weeks and months. Thank you for taking time to read my perspective, I am extremely grateful. Take care of yourselves, stay safe and stay strong. 

Written by Braden Granato